Dog Park Visitors: A Tale of Caution Concerning Decomposed Granite
Yesterday was an emotionally exhausting and terrifying experience for both Wyatt and us. I would hate for any other dog owners to endure this type of distress and risk. Below is a copy of the email I sent to Sacramento's head of the Department of Parks and Recreation:
"Good Afternoon Mrs. Harder,
My name is Chelsea Ward, a longtime Sacramento resident, and owner of a 5
month old Pembroke Welsh Corgi, named Wyatt. Like many puppies, Wyatt is a
curious and playful dog who absolutely loves the freedom and fun of playing
and exercising at Sacramento's Dog Parks. I first want to state that I'm
extremely grateful for the opportunity provided by the City of Sacramento to
enjoy and utilize such well kept dog parks. The parks are wonderful outlets
for apartment dwellers with pets who need secured, off-leash areas for their
four legged friends to explore.
My only criticism of Sacramento's dog parks is that I've noticed at several
parks (namely Sutter's Landing and Regency Community Park), in the
Sacramento Area, the park planners and developers implemented decomposed
granite on a vast portion of both the large and small dog areas. Yesterday,
Wyatt ate a large portion of said decomposed granite at Sutter's Landing
Large Dog Park. Throughout the remainder of the day, he vomited profusely,
had severe diarrhea, and was quickly becoming dehydrated. My fiancé and I
rushed him to Mueller Pet Hospital for an emergency examination. It was
determined via x-rays that he had ingested so much decomposed granite that
it caused an impaction in his small intestine. He fortunately escaped the
need for surgery, but did need to stay on IV fluids overnight. Wyatt also
had to be put on painkillers and was administered two enemas. Had we not
taken him to the hospital, he would have died from both the obstruction and
dehydration. As Wyatt's owner, I understand that it's my responsibility to
insure that he doesn't ingest harmful items. I did leave the dog park as
soon as I saw him eating the granite. However, the purpose of a dog park is
to provide dogs with a safe environment in which they can explore and
socialize with other dogs while off-leash. My proposal is to implement more
grassy surfaces in the Sacramento Dog Parks. While I fully understand that
budget restrictions are an ongoing issue, it would sadden me if any other
puppies or dogs incurred this type of medical distress. A number of dog
parks in Fair Oaks, CA have large grassy terrains established and well
maintained, including P.O.O.C.H Park of Citrus Heights located on Oak
Avenue, east of Fair Oaks. I would implore you and the department of parks
and recreation to investigate these terrains and modify Sacramento's dog
parks to incorporate more grass.
I do not intend to take legal action on this matter, as I'm partly
responsible for Wyatt ingesting the granite. However, in the future, you may
encounter pet owners and citizens whose dogs have endured similar medical
issues with the decomposed granite. It would be in the Department of Parks
and Recreation's best interest to implement some safety precautions to
better protect Sacramento resident's beloved pets.
I've also enclosed a link to the Sutter's Landing Yelp review page, in which
many reviewers expressed their dissatisfaction with the lack of grass at the dog park:
http://www.yelp.com/biz/sutters-landing-dog-park-sacramento
While I understand my request will need to be considered over a period of
time, a prompt acknowledgement or receipt of this email would assure me that
my concerns are being taken seriously.
Respectfully,
Chelsea Ward"
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Jane Christensen on
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Oh, poor baby....glad all turned out well! I do wonder how many other dogs this may have happened to???/
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Permalink Reply by Chelsea and Wyatt on
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My thoughts exactly, Jane. I can't help but think Wyatt is not the only dog this has happened to. On the Yelp review page, many people also expressed concerns about the granite getting so hot it cracked their dog's paw pads. Wyatt is still at the hospital, but the Dr said he's pooping it out and holding down his food. This has been a very upsetting and emotional experience for us to say the least!
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Oh, poor Wyatt....I didn't realize he was still in the hospital...we're sending healing thoughts his way and yours!
I sure hope they do something about this even if it's covering it up!
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Thank you, Jane. All I want to do is hold my baby and see him. We've never spent a night without him, let alone two nights. He's doing extraordinarily well and the pebbles are passing. As a precaution, the vet just wants to keep him one more night to provide the extra fluids and supervision.
As for the decomposed granite, I found this web site; K-9 grass sounds like a much better option:
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Permalink Reply by Anna Morelli on
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Sounds really interesting.
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How scary, hope he's fully recovered soon. Some places put down mulch. If mulch contains coconut shell, a component of many mulches, this is poisonous and quite dangerous to dogs, if ingested. Pups can get themselves in trouble eating small stones, even pea gravel, and will down any number of things we consider inedible, so you really need to keep an eye on their busy mouth. They can be so fast....and the lesson rarely caries over to next time.
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Anna, you're right about learning the lesson the hard way. We will certainly continue reinforcing the "leave it" command once our baby comes home. I just spoke with the Vet yet again, and they said he's doing extraordinarily well: he's eating food with GREAT enthusiasm, keeping it down, eliminating regularly, and his demeanor is a lot more energetic. They're going to keep him one more night because his second x-ray revealed that there was still a small amount of granite in his stomach, but that the overall amount of granite has reduced by half since yesterday. So fortunately, it's passing with the help of the fluids.
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Permalink Reply by Jennifer Markley on
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Scary...I'm glad he's doing better! I have no idea what this even looks like? What do we watch out for?
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It looks like coarse sand. A lot of people use it on their driveways or patios as well. Here's a picture:
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Permalink Reply by Ellen Andersen on
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I'm so glad Wyatt is on the mend! I just wanted to commend you on such a well written and thougtful letter. You get the point across and stress the seriousness of the issue but you do it politely without sounding like a complaining irate person....I think a letter like that would carry so much more power than so many of the ones you see nowadays (just anger and whining...no solutions proposed (yours is an excellent one!)) I hope you and your neighbors get some much needed improvements to the parks.
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What a good point you make, Ellen!!!
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Permalink Reply by Gail and Ashton on
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Your letter was very polite and to the point. So many people let their emotions vent in letters to govt./those responsible, hopefully they will take this to heart and make the necessary changes to avoid future problems.
Get Well Soon Wyatt!! I'm sending you well wishes and corgi belly rubs to help your tummy get better!!
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